Grandaddy Mimm's Moonshine Distillery and Gift Shop

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Music and moonshine have been intertwined since long before prohibition, and the stories behind many a country song have had their inspiration from the illegal libation. A generation after notorious moonshiner Jack “Mimm” McClure passed away, his country singer/songwriter grandson and Williamson County Tennessee resident, Tommy Townsend, is now producing Grandaddy Mimms Authentic Corn Whiskey using the exact recipes that made his grandfather’s “shine” some of the most sought-after in North Georgia. The whiskey was released in Georgia last fall, and Best Brands, Inc. in Nashville is now distributing the new products throughout Middle Tennessee and down to Chattanooga.

Townsend, who is the lead singer for Waymore’s Outlaws – the backing band of the late country Hall of Famer Waylon Jennings – received his family’s blessing to pursue bringing Mimm’s recipes to market. He then partnered with the Georgia Distilling Company in Milledgeville, Georgia to produce Grandaddy Mimms in apple and white corn whiskey. An aged blended whiskey and peach brandy will follow this year. Grandaddy Mimms uses the same simple ingredients with all of the taste and tradition enjoyed by common folk, celebrities and high-powered politicians 80 years ago.

Regarding educating the public about the newly-legal drink, Townsend shares: “There’s a misconception that you have to drink moonshine straight. You can mix in just about any of your favorite drinks, from a margarita to a cosmopolitan to just about any type of martini. We’re anxious to hear what people come up with!”

Grandaddy Mimms is not limited to the inside of a glass, either. Waylon’s daughter-in-law, Kathy Jennings, has dubbed herself the “Grandaddy Mimms Tipsy Chef,” and she has created “Grandaddy Mimms Apple Brandy Cobbler,” “Tipsy Fried Chicken” and “Grandaddy Mimms Apple Brandy Chocolate Pie.” These recipes and numerous drink concoctions can be found at www.GrandaddyMimms.com.

Music and moonshine have been intertwined since long before prohibition, and the stories behind many a country song have had their inspiration from the illegal libation. A generation after notorious moonshiner Jack “Mimm” McClure passed away, his country singer/songwriter grandson …

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Country singer Tommy Townsend grew up listening to stories about his grandfather, Jack “Mimm” McClure, who started making bootleg whiskey during the Great Depression.

“My grandaddy was a famous moonshiner from the 1930s to the 60s,” he says. “Some people called him the ‘John Wayne of the north Georgia mountains.’” “He would carry the corn and sugar in the woods in an old wagon or a sled,” Townsend adds. “I think he had four or five stills set up all over the mountains.” He was 2 years old when is grandfather died. The recipes laid around until 2012 when Townsend started his own moonshine business called Grandaddy Mimms.

“We have the original recipes of corn whiskey and apple brandy,” he says. “We have one called Apple Brown Betty, a blended whiskey and a 140 proof called Mule Kickin High Octane.”

The moonshine is sold in liquor stores in Georgia and middle Tennessee but Townsend says his goal is to get it in all 50 states.

He recently opened a gift shop in his hometown of Blairsville, Georgia. “We’ll eventually be making [the moonshine] here, and we will do tastings here hopefully in early 2015.”

When he’s not making moonshine, Townsend’s true passion is making music. “I met Waylon Jennings when I was 13,” he says. “Now the band is back together after Waylon's passing. I'm their lead singer, and it's called Waymore's Outlaws. We're out touring with Shooter Jennings all over the country now.”

“I think music and moonshine go really well together,” he adds. “What better thing to be doing is drinking when you're listening to music?